Li Ying could tell that Aunt Hong was sick the moment she saw her. She didn’t believe that someone as smart as her second brother wouldn’t be able to tell.
Shi Bai hesitated for a moment and said, "It's nothing. She's been like this lately."
"Second Brother, you should communicate more with Aunt Hong. You can't let her stay so depressed, or something bad will happen," Li Ying reminded him.
Shi Bai patted Li Ying on the shoulder: "Junior sister, I'm also a doctor. I know better than you whether my mother is sick or not. You don't need to worry, just take good care of yourself."
Li Ying sensed a different meaning in her second senior brother's lukewarm words, but she didn't want to interfere in his family affairs.
"You should rest for a bit. I'll take you into the mountains to collect herbs after 10 a.m. tomorrow."
Shi Bai patted Li Ying on the shoulder.
Li Ying was indeed exhausted. She went back to her room and fell asleep immediately.
Late at night, Li Ying got up to use the bathroom. As she left her room, the yard was pitch black, and the light from her flashlight was dim.
A soft sob reached Li Ying's ears. She recognized the sound as coming from Aunt Hong's room. She had gone to the bathroom first, and when she returned, she gently knocked on Aunt Hong's door.
"Who is it?" came Aunt Hong's voice from inside the room.
"It's me, I'm Li Ying."
The door opened quickly, and there stood Aunt Hong, dressed in a coat and holding a kerosene lamp. Her red and swollen eyes proved that she had indeed been crying.
"Aunt Hong, may I come in?"
Aunt Hong nodded and made way for her.
After Li Ying entered the house, Aunt Hong closed the door.
"Are you new here and not used to it yet?" Aunt Hong asked softly.
"Yes, a little."
"If you don't mind, you can squeeze in with me." Aunt Hong put the old men's clothes on the table under the kerosene lamp.
"Are these Uncle's clothes?"
Aunt Hong paused, looking at the clothes in her hands. Her eyes soon reddened again, and large tears rolled down her cheeks.
“Aunt Hong,” Li Ying stepped forward and put her arm around Aunt Hong’s shoulder, “you still have your second senior brother.”
"They promised they'd come back and live with us after we won, but in the end... sob sob..."
Aunt Hong hugged the clothes and wept bitterly.
Shi Bai's father was a hero who sacrificed his life and is a respectable person, but it was Aunt Hong who suffered.
Li Ying put her arm around Aunt Hong's shoulder and stayed by her side silently.
"Yingying, my only wish now is that your second senior brother can get married and have children, and that I can hold my grandson in my arms before I die. That way, even if I go down to the underworld and see Father Shi Bai, I can rest in peace."
It was a very simple wish. Li Ying comforted him, "Aunt Hong, don't worry, Second Brother will definitely find the person he loves, get married and have children."
This is Aunt Hong's wish. Why can't Second Brother, who is such a filial son, fulfill it?
A thin mist rose from the small mountain village in the early morning. Shi Bai got up early and squatted by the well, sharpening his curved knife. He had to carry a knife when going up the mountain, so that he could defend himself if he encountered snakes, insects or wild animals.
Li Ying and Aunt Hong made breakfast together, and Zhou Qi helped serve the food to the table.
Shi Bai tossed a knife to Zhou Qi: "Take this with you, we might need it when we go up the mountain later."
"good."
Zhou Qi didn't stand on ceremony, put on his curved sword, and sat down to eat.
Shi Bai also sat down.
Just as everyone was about to eat, footsteps sounded outside. Curious, a few people put down their bowls and chopsticks and went out of the house.
A disheveled girl rushed into the courtyard, grabbed Shi Bai's leg, and cried, "Brother Shi Bai, please, save me! I don't want to be married off to bring bad luck!"
Shi Bai stiffly pulled his legs back and said to the kneeling girl, "Don't worry, I guarantee Pang Er won't die. I can bring him back to life."
"Chuanmiao, did you hear that? Doctor Shi said he can cure Pang Er. What are you still making a fuss about? Come back with me!" A burly man went up and pulled the kneeling girl away.
The girl named Chuanmiao had tears streaming down her face and went up to hug Shi Bai's legs tightly.
"Brother Shi Bai, please, I don't want to marry Pang Er, I don't want to marry him! Please save me! Save me!"
The girl cried her heart out.
Aunt Hong couldn't hold back any longer and stepped forward to Chuanmiao's father, saying, "Look how badly the child is crying! How can you still be pressuring her like this?"
Chuanmiao's father sighed, tugged at his patched clothes, and looked distressed: "What can I do? Before, when Chuanmiao's mother was sick, I borrowed money from Pang Er's family to pay for her treatment. Now Pang Er is seriously ill, and his family wants me to perform a 'lucky marriage' for her, or they will have to pay back the money. Our family can't even find a mouse, let alone money."
“This is a new society, and women have the right to choose their own marriage,” Li Ying couldn’t help but say.
With a face full of grief, Chuanmiao's father said, "But our family has no money to give to the Pang family, so we can only ask Chuanmiao to bring them good luck."
Li Ying looked at Shi Bai. They were just outsiders, but her second senior brother was not. Perhaps his words could be useful here.
“I told you, I can definitely cure Pang Er’s illness! Their family wants you to marry him to bring them good luck, it’s just a psychological comfort, so just agree,” Shi Bai said decisively.
Li Ying was dumbfounded. When did her second senior brother become so cold-blooded?
"The idea of 'marrying for good luck' is just a superstition. Do you really believe in it?" Zhou Qi retorted.
Chuanmiao's father glanced at the group and said, "Don't talk nonsense. If something happens to the Pang family, can you take responsibility? Doctor Shi, you're the only doctor in our village. You said Pang Er could get better, right? Then he definitely can. Chuanmiao, you won't lose anything by marrying him to bring him good luck. Once he's better, you'll be a happy couple. Come back with me!" Chuanmiao's father dragged Chuanmiao away.
The courtyard quieted down.
Aunt Hong looked up at Shi Bai, her eyes filled with disappointment.
“I remember you told your mother before that studying medicine was about saving lives, but you refused to save Chuanmiao!”
“Mother, I’m here to help the sick, not to interfere in other people’s marriages.” After saying this, Shi Bai packed his basket and then said to Li Ying and Zhou Qi, “Come up the mountain with me now.”
Li Ying couldn't say anything, she could only signal Zhou Qi to follow.
The mountain path was rugged, so Shi Bai specially gave Li Ying a bamboo walking stick to help her exert herself.
Zhou Qi followed behind, ensuring that nothing would happen.
Along the way, Shi Bai remained silent, and Li Ying didn't want to talk either; climbing the mountain while pregnant was already a very strenuous activity for her.
Seeing that the two people were starting to breathe heavily, Shi Bai stopped.
"Let's take a break."
"good."
Find a flat spot, sit down and rest.
Li Ying couldn't understand when her kind and benevolent second senior brother had become so cold-blooded and heartless, capable of standing by and watching someone die. Although she knew to respect other people's fates and not interfere in their karma, that girl named Chuan Miao clearly liked her second senior brother; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to him for help.
But is the second senior brother acting so cold-blooded just because he doesn't like Chuan Miao?
Unfortunately, we didn't find anything today, only some Panax notoginseng and Plantago asiatica.
Upon returning home, Shi Bai went to the Pang family to treat Pang Er.
Shi Bai was blocked on his way out of Pang's house by Chuan Miao.
"You could have saved me, why did you refuse?"
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